Long lines at the San Ysidro-Tijuana port of entry have affected thousands of people on both sides of the border.

Tourists and workers working in the US who cross the port of entry daily have to be very patient when going to Tijuana as the time spent in line has been increasing more and more.

Several users have protested against the vehicular chaos, as they claim that the port of entry doesn't even open 50% of its gates. They’ve said that sometimes there are only 3 lines open to get into Tijuana. This has become a problem that directly affects the economy of the border states of Baja California and California.

It has become clear that the tourism situation could worsen if improvements are not made at the port of entry to address these delays, future population growth, several infrastructure projects, and the immigration crisis.

Requests have been made to speed up the border crossing at the San Ysidro-Tijuana port of entry

On platforms such as change.org, several users have expressed their discontent due to this situation, creating petitions and collecting signatures to end this issue. The most recent one was created on October 18, 2023.

It should be noted that one of the petitions with the greatest reach has collected 1,800 signatures and dozens of comments in just two weeks.

This same group consisting of residents of both Californias sent a letter to Lieutenant Colonel Alejandro Robles Segura, administrator of the Tijuana Customs Office, and Licentiate José Obed Silva, Secretary of Municipal Urban Sustainable Mobility, in order to get an answer about the main causes of the closures of gates at the San Ysidro-Tijuana port of entry, and the measures that are being taken to resolve this situation.

The letter sent by Juan Ceballos, representing more than 1,800 people, was directed at the Mexican Customs Systems, as it is the agency in charge of making trade easier and strengthening national security at the ports of entry.

However, another issue that persists is the lack of roads to enter into Tijuana due to restorations and construction of new public projects that are worsening traffic in the region.

It is important to note that, starting in November and all the way until next year, the International Road will be partially closed due to the construction work of the elevated viaduct. The Secretary of Sustainable Mobility, Obed Silva, explained that the viaduct's support will be built in the central part of the avenue, which is why traffic flow will be limited in several areas leaving only one lane per direction.

It is a situation that affects traffic flow, especially users who cross the border to take the detour to get into the International Road and that is why this petition was sent to the Secretary of Urban Mobility of Tijuana.

In an exclusive interview with San Diego Red, Juan Ceballos said that he hasn't received a concrete answer from the Tijuana Customs Office:

"They just say that they are working on a solution, but several questions were asked and we didn't get any responses," he said.

In addition, he said that US organizations are only getting marginally involved in this situation.

"I spoke with Joaquin Luken of Smart Border Coalition and he resent the letter. Organizations in the US are doing what is possible to raise awareness with authorities. However, he shared with me that it is an important challenge, that there were many changes of staff in customs," he added.

It should be noted that on Sunday October 1, 2023, Lieutenant-Colonel Alejandro Eugenio Robles Segura became the new administrator of Tijuana Customs.

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Modernization projects in infrastructure at Customs is creating chaos when accessing Tijuana

In an exclusive interview with San Diego Red, Licentiate Gabriel Camarena, current Coordinator of the Binational Axis at the Council of Economic Development of Tijuana (CDT) spoke about the follow up the private sector has had regarding ports of entry and how they are affecting economy and tourism in the region.

Camarena explained that in the last few days, a panel took place in Mexico City where they addressed issues related to infrastructure in Tijuana and future federal projects.

"We went with the binational delegation called the Chamber of Regional Commerce of San Diego (...) and one of the important panels was precisely about border infrastructure, specifically about future border crossings such as Otay II and what is currently happening in San Ysidro," he said.

At this panel, General Ramiro Gómez Contreras, member of SEDENA and Central Coordinator of Customs, and Rafael Alejandro Barradas, Director of Infrastructure and Modernization at the National Agency of Customs of Mexico (ANAM), were both present and emphasized the intensive infrastructure modernization programs that were applied in Mexico's customs offices especially in the northern area.

"The entire northern border is being affected by civil projects and obsolete technology, and that is why we are restoring them. Regarding San Ysidro, there are 17 gates that must be enabled when possible, however, usually there are only six (...) that's not even 50% and this situation was talked about and it will be followed up, according to the general," Camarena added.

During this meeting, the Central Coordinator of Customs, Ramiro Gómez, stated that they have monthly meetings where they address several concerns about the ports of entry in Baja California, especially the ones in Tijuana. They are also in constant communication and coordination with CBP regarding infrastructure work on both sides of the border.

For his part, Lic. Camarena claimed that social communication is necessary by several different agencies so that the community knows the main reasons for the closures at the port of entry.

It is always better to have good communication with the community because a lot of us, even using myself as an example, we were not aware about this information. So the main thing would be for the agencies of the federal government, in this case the ones managed by the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA), to be in communication with businesses and society so that civil society has updated information about how these works are being developed.

In addition, he emphasized that the closure of the PedWest pedestrian crossing, which was closed due to the immigration crisis and actions by CBP, decreases pedestrian transportation capabilities, affecting thousands of residents and businesses in both regions.

"It is a situation that both sides have to resolve because, it should be said, when someone is entering into San Diego, many times not all lanes or gates are open. They say it is because of a lack of staff, but it is an issue that must be addressed on the American side (...) so that there's a benefit in traveling times and the economy of border states," Gabriel Camarena concluded.

Secretariat of Foreign Affairs talks about the crisis at the El Chaparral port of entry

The chief of the North American Unit of the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (SRE), Roberto Velasco Álvarez, spoke about issues at the border crossing and spoke about the future Otay II Port of Entry, which will be operating in 2024.

Regarding entering into Mexico through the El Chaparral port of entry, he said that they are installing technology to speed up admissions into Tijuana. In addition, they are also trying to reopen PedWest which is why they keep communicating with US authorities.

Several issues have occurred regarding immigration and CBP made a decision that makes pedestrian flow harder. Regarding entry into Mexico, communication is being maintained with Mexican Customs and the National Institute of Migration to make sure they have the necessary elements and achieve greater speedup during crossings.

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Long lines at the San Ysidro-Tijuana port of entry will have economic and tourism consequences in the Cali-Baja region

A [url=https://calsta.ca.gov/press-releases/2021-06-28-ca-mexico-collaborate-future-port-of-entry]study made by the California State Transportation Agency showed the economic impact of the Cali-Baja region during the 2021-2022 period, which gradually decreased due to waiting times by vehicles at the border.

Around 78,000 to 83,000 jobs were lost yearly due to waiting times at the port of entry, which has resulted in an economic impact of around 3,8 billion dollars in Mexico and the United States, according to this agency.

Delays create economic losses on both sides of the border, according to a radio capsule by KPBS, published on September 19, 2023, where they state that only in San Diego, they have estimated economic losses of more than 5 billion dollars and more than 97,000 jobs lost in 2025 if there are no improvements at the ports of entry.

Regarding this research, so far, there has been no concrete response from the National Agency of Customs of Mexico, the Coordinator Business Council, and CANACINTRA.

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Video credits: NMAS Noticias